What can you say? The start is the same as the finish and I am obviously disappointed with the result.

What happened in the first half as that was pretty woeful wasn’t it?

Yes, it was. They were a lot more lively than us. They did score against the run of play at bit, funnily enough. We had some play, but unfortunately we didn’t look to have the power and the pace of them as the half went on. In the second half they were playing for their pride really as individuals and when you put it onto them in a personal level, they all picked up a little bit. Getting the goal was good, good for Mo to score again, but their two strikes in the second half were fantastic strikes. Their goals were really good, well worked goals. We didn’t do enough to get anywhere near them. We’ll look at that and rebuild with that in mind. Every time you get a result like that you rebuild a little bit more and you need more players to rebuild what you need to have to compete at this level.

There was a significant gap on the pitch today, why do you think that was?

There was a significant gap in the goals, I agree. It’s easy to ask the question, but we haven’t been like that all season, every game. Today was a day that was a big game for them and some of our boys didn’t handle the importance of the game, to them. We tried to give them the scenarios and what they needed to do. They needed to get their goal difference up, with Mansfield winning against Yeovil. They threw people forward, full-backs were getting forward, midfielders were getting forward and they had the power and pace, and cleverness to score some good goals and that was the difference.

Five weeks ago Cheltenham won 5-3 at Crawley Town. Since then it’s five defeats in six. Can you explain why the form has tailed off?

I don’t know what you want me to say. We go into every game, we got beaten by the odd goal in the games we did get beaten in. You can only say that at this moment in time we got ourselves out of trouble so we weren’t fighting a relegation battle. Certain players didn’t quite step up to the plate. Whether there is nothing to play, there always is, your career. We don’t put them out there like that. When they leave the dressing room they are like gladiators until a goal goes in. They then pick up their support and our support, normal human nature, people get disappointed and as the goals go in people get more and more disappointed, as we do in the dugout. We have to fight another day and build another squad.

Do you think the changes now will have to be more extensive than you thought they might have been six weeks ago?

Yes, that’s probably true. You give people an opportunity to prove themselves. Some have been unlucky, like Sanmi, who has been injured most of the time. Today we had Dawson, Graham and Moore injured so we had a few who weren’t able for me to see if they could cope with a game like that. It’s going to take another rebuilding job because I am as disappointed as everyone else.

Have you got the energy and the passion to do that Gary?

Yes, of course I have. Do you think I haven’t? You have asked me a lot of negative questions there as you would do after a 6-1 defeat of course and I understand that. But I can look into the future and of course I have the energy and the passion.

You lost 6-1 at Portsmouth on the final day of the season, against quality opposition. Do you think you have progressed in that year?

Yes, we have progressed, but that doesn’t mean to say it’s good enough for our football club. We have progressed because we’ve had some decent results and scored a few goals along the way. But you have to look at it in a different light when a team comes to your home ground and puts six past you, albeit six unbelievable goals. I’ll look at it and I’ll know what to do and I owe it to certain people to make sure we turn it around and have a big summer. I’ve said in there some of them have put themselves back a little bit. We need to go out and pick up the players who have that power, pace and penetration that they had today. If we can find them at our budget.

Do you think even if you prepare the right way, it is hard psychologically to compete with a team who have so much riding on the game?

I think it’s down to the individual. You are either a competitor or you’re not. There are a lot of players who haven’t made the grade they should have, despite being good footballers, because mentally they are weak. Unfortunately if you get too many of them in a team, no matter how much cajoling or training, they don’t cope with these kinds of games and they’ll find themselves playing at a different level and probably not higher.

In your programme notes you summed up the season, saying there are some positives, but said you know what you need to do. What’s the key if you are going to catch up?

It’s all about recruitment. If I give you a fiver to get the best sweets in the world and give someone else a tenner, they’ll come back with the better sweets. We need to look at that, but all my clubs have had low budgets and I am not moaning about that. My board of directors have been very supporting so I am not saying that as a negative, but it’s realistic. We have to be optimistic, but realistic and try to find seven or eight Mos. That’s what we will try and do. I’ve discussed with lots of players over the last couple of weeks. Some of them the terms are not enough for them as they’ve been on more, to move into the area and all that sort of thing. But there are one or two we have a handshake on and we are happy to bring them in. We can’t mention them yet as they are still at clubs.